Torment
by angelic24731
Summary: What if Mary had survived? Would things have been different? And what is Ib hiding?


**Ib Fanfiction - Torment.**

**Hello! It-sa me! Mar- I mean... Angelic24731... hehe... .**

**This fanfiction is a bit of a weird one... I don't really know what I'm going to do with it but if people start favouriting and reviewing then maybe I will continue this story! **

**Okay! Enough of me blabbing! Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review! It makes me happy! ^o^**

**Chapter 1 - "Fabricated World."**

_"Once you go in,_

_there is no going back._

_All your time here will be lost._

_Will you still jump in?"_

It all came down to this moment. Ib stared at the twisting thorns that blocked the staircase. Garry stood by her side, deep in thought. She checked her pockets warily, besides her fragile red rose with a few petals still left attached and her silk handkerchief, there was nothing that would help in this situation. Ib sighed and turned to Garry who was still looking at the vines, she knew he was also trying to figure out how to break through. Ib didn't know what was on the other side but she felt it was important, so even though the exit to this place was so near they felt they felt this room was a priority. "I would suggest cutting them down, But I don't have anything useful." Ib stated warily and her companions gaze flickered and was directed into her own eyes. He rummaged in his coat pockets for a second and then brought out a small silver lighter. "We could... burn them." He suggested. Receiving a small nod he bent down, clicking the lighter to life. After holding the tiny flame to the leaves for a moment the plant quickly caught and within a minute was burnt away to charcoal cinders that dropped to the floor, forgotten. Kicking through a few rogue vines that had refused to burn Garry and Ib forced their way through, up the colourful stairs and into a small room at the very top of the house.

The room was small, smaller than Ib thought it would be. There were no windows or doors apart from the one they had just entered through. Everything in the room seemed like something out of a colouring book that belonged to a young child. The walls were riddled with scribbles and drawings of people, two distinct drawings depicted a brunette girl with a red rose and a violet haired man with a blue rose, they were both smiling and waving. A portrait hung from the far wall where the peeling wallpaper was bright pink, framed in a beautiful shimmering gold. Small blue dolls littered the carpet, each supporting a wide smile and wild black hair. A few other things were lying about, such as colouring books and photos of scenery.

Ib decided to study the painting, it showed a cheerful blonde girl with cerulean eyes and a green flowing dress with white frills. She didn't even need to read the nameplate to know who it was.

'Mary'

"Garry? Ib?"

The two whirled around to see the arrival of a new person. Mary had somehow managed to find them again and was now looking from them to the painting with what could only be described as betrayal. "What are you doing here?" She asked bluntly, the sharp silver palette knife she had picked up from earlier glinting. Garry put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, calm down. We didn't know this was your room." Mary didn't seem phased " You don't need to be in here, leave right away." Ib and Garry exchanged a look "Get away from this room!" Mary exclaimed, there was urgency in her voice and she half stamped her foot into the carpet to prove her point. " But Mary..." Ib muttered with slight sadness. Mary looked on the verge of tears "Why are you here?! What are you planning to do to my painting?!" Garry positioned himself in front of Ib and shielded her from Mary's view. "We felt like there was something important here!" He argued. It didn't seem to sway Mary. "Step away from the painting and go." Muttered the blonde girl as she gripped the palate knife in her small hand. "But Mary.. I wanted to...to..." Muttered Ib, unable to finish.

Mary looked up, distraught with eyes glistening. "You can't stay here! Why aren't you leaving?! I told you to leave!" she yelled, and even though regret was shining in her cerulean orbs she ran at them with the palette knife brandished dangerously. Garry pulled Ib backwards and ran in the other direction, towards Mary's painting.

"There's only one option!" Yelled Garry as he brandished the lighter in his pocket and clicked it to life. Mary stopped dead in her tracks as Garry held the lighter to the painting. Ib looked at him "Garry wait! There are other ways to handle this-" She saw the sudden contortion of Garry's face as he realised what he had done. The edge of the picture started to smoke, and the glass cracked and shattered. Garry backed away, dropping his dead lighter onto the floor.

Time seemed to slow as Ib looked Mary dead in the eyes and saw the tears that were steaming down her porcelain face...

_~Flashback~_

_The two girls had walked down the lonely corridor for a while now._

_"Hey, Ib."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Is Garry your father?" Asked Mary looking curiously at her companion._

_"No, but he's a good friend."_

_"Oh, do you like your parents?"_

_"Yes, I love them very much." Ib said with a smile, Mary seemed to be studying her, why did Ib seem slightly... sad?_

_"Is everything alright Mary?" The red-eyed girl questioned, breaking the blonde's train of thought._

_"..."_

_"Mary?"_

_"I'm fine," Mary shrugged off Ib's weird behaviour. "I just can't wait to get out of here."_

_~End of flashback~_

Ib felt her eyes sting with tears as she saw the edge of Mary's dress catch with flames. "I don't want to die!" The blonde girl screamed as she sunk to the carpet and held herself with trembling fingers as her legs were burnt away slowly and painfully.

Garry stared at the girl, horrified at what he was witnessing. He had acted without thinking and now merely stood there as he watched the girl burn. He didn't want this, He didn't want this to happen! He'd never meant for anyone to die!"

_~Another Flashback~_

_The blonde girl was sitting on the floor, looking curiously up at them through blue eyes._

_"Hello, are you someone from the gallery too?" Garry asked her kindly._

_"Ah, Yes! My name is Mary!"_

_"Well, Mary would you like to join us? We can get out of this place together!"_

_"I'd love to go with you! Let's be good friends!"_

_~End of Flashback~_

"Mary!" Garry cried as he ran towards the blonde girl.

"I'm Sorry!" Screamed Mary. "I never wanted this at all! I just wanted to be with Ib and Garry cause they're the only friends I ever needed! I don't want to die here!

_~As you may have guessed I like flashbacks~_

_They came to a room with a singular table, on it sat a vase of water._

_"Oh, Yeah. Do you have a rose too Mary?" Asked Garry._

_"Yes I do! A yellow one!" Mary exclaimed as she withdrew the rose from her pocket._

_"It's pretty." Murmured Ib, Mary beamed at her._

_"Keep it safe, Mary." Garry said and beckoned them to carry on._

_~End of Flashback~_

Please stop the fire! I don't want to loose you guys!" Shouted the girl as her legs burnt and the flames travelled higher. "You've been all I've had for the short time we've been together but-"

Mary stopped and waited for a second.

She wasn't burning anymore.

The pain was gone.

The flames that had almost engulfed her had vanished.

"...I'm alright." Breathed Mary in disbelief. "I'm not burning."

Garry looked amazed "How did the fire go out?"

Ib clutched at her hands that were burnt and raw and grimaced in the pain.

"Ib?" said Garry as he looked over at her and his eyes widened.

"I did... it ...Mary...Garry... I... Stopped the fire..." Ib slurred as she slumped forward.

"Ib!" Mary cried as she staggered towards the girl only to fall down as her blackened legs gave out under her. "Don't move Mary! You'll break apart." Cried Garry in concern. "Garry... Save...Ib." The blonde muttered into the carpet. Garry nodded and picked up the small brunette girl, holding her gingerly. "She must've passed out from the pain." Said Garry with a worried tone. "It looks like she grabbed the fire on the painting and put it out with her hands."

There was a very long pause before Mary started to speak.

"There... should be... a blanket... in that chest... in the corner..." She whispered even quieter than before. Garry quickly laid Ib down nicely away from all the broken glass and went over to the chest "It's not just a hole like the last one is it?" He asked slightly nervously. He saw Mary shake her head and deeming the toy box safe, he opened it and took out the blanket Mary had mentioned. He then draped in over the still unconscious Ib. "Mary? Are you alright?" He questioned as he went back to the blonde. "Everything hurts." She murmured. "I'm so sorry Mary. I'm so sorry for burning your painting. I wasn't thinking! I-"

"Garry." Interrupted Mary quietly. "It's okay, i forgive you."

The man breathed for a moment.

"What are we going to do about your legs? You can't walk. The painting is burnt." Muttered Garry with guilt once again washing over him, after all it was his fault Mary almost became charcoal in the first place.

"You could always... repaint it."

"Repaint it?"

"You'd have to... fix the canvas..."

Garry looked determined

"I'll fix your painting! But... I need something to help with Ib's hands, their very badly burnt." Garry finished sadly. Mary lay still for a moment before beginning to prop herself up on her elbows.

"Mary, be careful you don't over-exert yourself!"

"It's okay Garry. Pass me ...that notebook."

The blonde pointed to a small pink book with colourful scribbles over the cover. Garry reached for the book and brought it close before handing it to the girl.

"What are you going to do?"

Mary didn't answer but instead picked up a stray blue crayon from the floor and started to draw something on a blank page. Garry tried to look over but Mary tilted the book at such an angle that Garry couldn't get a look at what she was drawing. Suddenly there was a strange sound and a jar appeared on the floor.

"Wha-"

Mary handed the jar to Garry. "Use that on Ib's hands... it's a healing salve."

The violet haired man took the jar "I didn't know you could do that." He said absent-mindedly as he went back over to Ib and opened the Jar, proceeding to rub the mixture inside into her palms. "This mixture is quite cold." He breathed.

"Of course... It's for burns." He heard Mary mutter from her place on the floor.

"If it's for burns then why don't you use it on yourself?"

"The only way my state can be altered... is through my painting."

"Then we'll use it on the painting!"

"That wouldn't fix anything... It would just make the canvas messy."

"I suppose you're right." Garry sighed. "You can't stay on the floor forever I suppose, I'd better start trying to repaint you."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*( WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LINE BREAK NO JUTSU! )*.*.*.*.*.*.*

_...You cant remember what you were doing..._

_"Where...-" Ib began. She tried to reach out into the velvety blackness but she couldn't, she tried to move her head but couldn't achieve that either. She couldn't do anything or move anywhere. She was completely static in the vast expanse. So she concluded she must be simply a pair of eyeballs suspended in space._

_But, if she were a pair of eyeballs... How was she able to breathe?_

_A pair of eyes, and a mouth, It was the only answer._

_Wait, she needed more than a mouth to breathe._

_What was this air she was breathing?_

_Was it even air? Or ... Smoke?_

_She coughed violently, It was smoke. But why was there smoke here? Why was she here?_

_Her hands were burning. Stinging with the power of a fire. She tried to blow cool air onto them but ended up just covering them in ...smoke, again.._

_She couldn't breathe. She was suffocating in this smoky darkness._

_..._

_..._

_Suddenly, a light invaded her vision._

_"Ib!"_

_Garry?_

_"Ib!"_

_Mary?_

_There they were, in the centre of the light... In the centre of her whole world. Both laughing and waving happily, both waiting for her there._

_And then her hands felt cooler, and the smoke thinned._

_And Ib started to wake at last._

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* ( Another Linebreak!... Oh god they're multiplying. ) .*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Ib sat up with a jerk, breathing heavily as though she had just resurfaced from a lake. The first thing she saw through her slightly blurred vision was... Garry?

What was he doing?

"Oh! I think Ib's awake!" Said another voice... Mary?

"What-?" Slurred Ib as she pulled herself up from the ground, a thick blanket tumbled off her small frame. The sudden movement made her head spin, she started to fall forward but someone held her shoulders steady. "Ib? Are you okay? You've been out of it for quite a while..." She looked up into the purple eyes of Garry, he looked concerned. She smiled slightly "Yes.. I'm okay... Wait.. Garry?"

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"Why have you got paint on your face?"

"Oh." Garry rubbed at his face absent-mindedly "I must've been a bit messy with my painting skills." Ib tilted her head in curiosity "You were painting?" Garry gave a small smile. "Yeah. I repainted Mary's picture." That's when Ib remembered Mary. "Mary!" She cried as she caught sight of the blonde. "Oh Mary are you okay I-"

"Ib." Mary said calmly "I'm fine, I'm getting even better now Garry has repainted my legs. Just waiting for the feeling to come back into them... But... Thank you for putting out the fire, your hands must hurt quite a bit." Ib stared down at her blistered palms, they didn't hurt very much. "They are okay, but i don't know if the scarring will disappear. I'll just have to wait untill they heal." Mary nodded and sat up slowly with a grimace. "Woah Mary be careful." Exclaimed Garry as he rushed over to the struggling girl. "I'm okay." Mary bit her lip as the two helped her into a sitting position. "Thanks." She murmured in gratitude.

There was a moment of pause. Garry was the first one to speak.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

The girls looked at him. "I think we should try to get out of here, even though I don't know if the Gallery will let us... But it's worth a try right?." Said Mary, Ib nodding along. "I think the exit's quite near here actually." Getting an agreement from the other two Mary was lifted up by Gary's strong arms and Ib trotted behind them as the left Marry's room and her painting behind.

Who knew if they'd return?

*.*.*.*.* DUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUN LINE-BREAK! *.*.*.*.*

As they emerged out of the house they once again were greeted by the badly drawn world, with its scribbled sun glowing dimly in the sky and the path stretching ahead of them, a winding line of paint. They decided to stick to the path as anything else might not even be the ground at all but an empty space waiting for someone to fall down, and they weren't interested in finding out where they would end up if they went down there. So they stuck together, Garry holding Mary in his arms and Ib right behind him, tugging onto his jacket like a lifeline. "It's a lot more peaceful now." Murmured Gary as they passed a flower field of crayon drawn plants. "Yeah... I wonder where everyone is.." Pondered Mary out loud. "Everyone?" Questioned Ib. "Yeah. You know, the mannequins, the dolls, all of them." Sighed Mary "I wonder where they are..." Ib remembered the room they were just in. "There were some dolls on the floor in your room." Mary turned to her looking concerned, "The dolls never usually come to my room. It's quite unusual but i didn't even notice they were there." Ib eyebrows furrowed.

"There's a house." Said Garry, breaking the two girls out of their conversation. They had come to a stop outside a small pink cottage. "I have the key!" Said Mary triumphantly as she produced it from seemingly nowhere in particular, maybe out of a pocket from her dress. Ib took the key without question when Mary offered it to her and slotted it into the pink keyhole. With a twist and a click the door swung open, revealing a single room following the pink theme with a staircase in the middle of the floor. The three piled into the small room and shut the door behind them. They all stared down the stairs, but it continued underground into darkness so they couldn't see the bottom. "I wonder where that leads..." Murmured Garry. "There's only one way to find out." Ib said as she led the way down the staircase and into the black. Garry followed, still holding Mary.

"Watch your step, It's steep." Called Ib from ahead as they all travelled under the house. Ib hit the floor suddenly with her foot and she realised she was at the bottom of the staircase, looking back up she could see the silhouette of Garry and Mary climbing down after her. (Well technically just Garry cause he was holding Mary) Once all of them had reached the bottom it seemed to get a little brighter and the room around them was revealed. Ib recognised this place almost immediately.

"We're back in the Gallery!" She said in relief. "I thought I'd never see it again." Garry came up behind her "That must mean we're close to the exit, what exactly does it look like?" He directed this question more at Mary, as he knew Ib didn't know. "I honestly can't remember." Said Mary, startling both of them "I haven't looked at it in so long... I know it's a painting at least." Ib looked down the corridor, she could just about see the Abyss of the Deep painting. "I guess we'll have to search each one then." Sighed Garry "We should split up to search easier." Suggested Ib as Mary stayed silent, looking as though she didn't want to take different paths." Gary looked concerned. "Ib are you sure? I mean I still need to carry Mary so you'll be by yourself, I don't think that's the best idea..." He trailed off after seeing the determined look on Ib's face. "Im not scared of paintings. I'll go look upstairs, you two stay on the ground floor." And with that the brunette girl left them and headed up the stairs by herself. "Wait Ib!" Called Garry but she had already ascended onto the upper level and ignored him.

Mary sighed "I suppose she is right." Garry turned to her in disbelief "You're okay with this?!" The blonde stared after where Ib had left. "I think she'll be okay. She's tough. Let's try to look for the painting." And reluctantly, Garry and Mary headed towards the archway to search for the way out.

~With Ib~

It's was so silent in the gallery.

It was strange.

Ib felt so calm here.

Why would she feel like this?

Just walking around to occasionally peer at a painting closely, to read a dusty nameplate, smiling sadly when she stopped in front of the picture of the hanged man.

_"The Hanged Man"_

_"(6219) Guertena painted this as a filler while working for a magazine. Once this illustration became renowned, it was sold for a limited time as an actual tarot card using this picture. Presently, it is impossible to for one to find the tarot card."_

She remembered this was where she first saw Garry, in the real gallery... Now that she studied the picture closely, it wasn't as disturbing as when she had first laid eyes on it. She wondered why Garry was staring at this picture so intently... Ib reached out her hand and prodded the canvas. She almost jumped out of her skin when the Hanged Man jerked slightly and looked at her from within his frame.

"What is it?" He asked in annoyance. Ib stared at him. She then realised he was waiting for her to speak.

"Oh! Im so sorry for prodding your painting!" She apologized. The Hanged Man looked surprised for a moment. "You're.. forgiven." Ib smiled at the strange man hanging from his ankles. "How long have you been hanging like that? Surely you would've gotten a headache by now." The hanged man looked smugly at her. "Well, maybe I'm just so amazing head rush doesn't affect me." Ib laughed a little.

"Anyway was there something you needed? I haven't got all day." The man said suddenly.

"Yes actually. Would you happen to know where the exit is?" Ib asked politely.

"The exit?" The man questioned "Why ever would you want to leave?" Ib stared at him.

Why did she want to leave again?

Ib almost smacked herself. She knew why she wanted to leave, she had to see her parents again... she loved them after all...

She...

She...

...

"Oi. Little girl. Are you okay?"

Ib looked back up, her vision was slightly blurry. She brought a hand up to touch her cheek...

...Why was she crying?

~With Garry and Mary~

"I've always wondered, what happens if you are in Guertena's world and you go through the Abyss of the Deep painting again? Where do you go?" Asked Garry as the two looked down at the pool of paint, with the angler fish still glowing slightly in its deep blue hue. Mary said nothing.

_"Abyss Of The Deep"_

_"A world where man will never stand...to realize that world, I decided that I would engrave it on a canvas."_

Garry sighed. "Anyway, I don't think this painting is the exit, let's go check somewhere else." Mary thought for a moment before deciding " Go straight on, and make sure to look at every painting, I don't want to miss the exit."

"Yes, your _highness_." Said Garry sarcastically. Mary smiled and smacked him. "Just keep walking you moron."

Garry also smiled, he knew that Mary and him would never stop arguing, but it felt natural to him.

It was weird... Why did he feel calmer now?

It was the same gallery with the same scary paintings.

But for some reason it felt nicer now.

Strange.

Garry shook the thought out of his head and kept searching the paintings.

~Back with Ib~

After leaving the hanged man Ib rubbed at her teary eyes. She was going to find the way out of here no matter what.

Ah. Ib stopped. This wasn't good.

There was a Lady in Red painting on the wall.

Ib had seen a few in her time here, so she wasn't about to get too close... but it might be the exit...

The woman noticed her as she approached but didn't say anything.

_"The Lady In Red"_

_"(6210) It was said that he [Guertena] based this on a lover he had at the time, but he has denied this claim. In truth, Guertena based it around the haughty women who attempted to court him for his inheritance."_

"Ummmm... Hello?" Said Ib nervously. The woman looked back at her haughtily. "What?"

"I... Need a bit of help..."

"You want me to help you? Don't make me laugh."

"Please?" Ib said a bit more confidently now she knew the woman wasn't going to attack her right away. The woman still looked annoyed.

"No."

"Please please please!" argued Ib.

"Shut up! You're too loud!" The woman shouted. Ib stepped back a bit, scared that the woman might attack now, but she stayed hanging on the wall, even if she was angry she didn't seem to want to move. There was a moment of silence then the woman dressed in red sighed.

"What did you need help with?"

"I need to find the exit."

"The exit huh... Are you sure?"

Ib was taken aback. "What do you mean, am I sure?"

"Im not repeating myself."

"Why do you all ask if I actually want to go or not?"

"Well, im pretty good at reading people. You don't seem too sure of yourself to be honest."

That was the second time it had been said to her. What was wrong with her? Did she want to leave or stay?

"Well, I'll tell you where the exit is anyway. Then you can make your decision, but don't come bothering me again." Said the Lady In Red. "Follow the right wall onwards and you should find it, its a rather large painting so you'll know it when you see it."

"What's it called?"

"I can never remember." She said warily.

"Ok, thanks anyway for the help."

And with that Ib left the woman by herself. She followed the dark wall round the corridors without one glance back at the painting. She had never realised how long the corridor were until now. She finally arrived at a long and empty corridor apart from a massive canvas that was plastered over the wall, it was a scribble of reds, blues and yellows. It also looked strangely like the real gallery. Ib bent down and wiped the dust off the name plate.

"? World."

She breathed heavily for a moment.

"This must be it."

* * *

**Phew! What a long chapter! I've outdone myself this time. But of course, you may not think the same... so please review and tell me your opinion! I hope it wasn't too confusing. IM NOT TELLING YOU WHERE THE STORY IS GOING AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Well! That's all for now! **

**Pastaaaaaaaa ~**


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